At the beginning of each year, I believe that every golfer will set some golf "small goals" by himself. Whether it is breaking a hundred or breaking eight, whether it is to win a few more championships or play a few more courses, it is always good to have a dream, at least every small white ball has a direction of progress, but also gives us reason to believe: 2022 will be better than 2021!
Looking forward to the new year of global golf, if we make bold predictions and set up a FLAG, Uncle Bird will expect the following 7 major events to become a reality in 2022:
1
The new men are the first in the world
This should be the most likely thing to happen in 2022. In fact, at the Heroes World Challenge 4 weeks ago, we were expected to usher in the birth of a new ball king. Unfortunately, Colin Morikawa's self-destruct 5-shot lead was lost to the 25th men's world number one title in history.
In fact, if you only count the world points earned in 2021, Colin Morikawa's 418.41 points is enough to surpass the world number one Joan Ram (342.51) – and any golfer! However, since Ram's two-year participation (42) was less than Morikawa's (50), the Spaniard was lucky enough to save the year-end ball king through algorithms.
However, the Battle for the King of Balls will start in the first week of the new year! At the PGA TOUR Sentinel Championship on Jan. 6, Ram and Colin Morikawa will start the same PK in Hawaii. As long as Morikawa plays the "opening red", it is possible to become the world's number one at the beginning of the new year. Even if it fails to do so, with the strong upward momentum of only 24 years old, it is probably only a matter of time before the Japanese-American handsome man reaches the top in 2022.
Of course, in the new year, we may not just usher in "one" new world number one: Patrick Cantley, currently no. 4 in the world, Bryson De Chambreson, no. 6 Zander Sheophonle, and victor Hochland, the new champion of the Heroes World Challenge who joined the PGA Tour at the same time as Colin Morkawa, all have the strength to take the lead in 2022.
2
THE HSBC Champions returns
On December 31, in the "2022 Shanghai International and Domestic Sports Event Plan" announced by the Shanghai Municipal Sports Bureau, the world championships - HSBC Champions and the Buick LPGA Championship were listed in two golf events! On December 28, the previous three days, in the first batch of "Shanghai Events" brand recognition system also released by the Shanghai Municipal Sports Bureau, the World Championships - HSBC Championships won the highest level of "P" event certification, becoming the top sports event in Shanghai with the same name as the F1 Chinese Grand Prix, the Shanghai ATP1000 Masters and the Shanghai Marathon!
This seems to mean that the two-year-old HSBC Champions Tournament is expected to stage the "Return of the King" in 2022 and reappear in front of Chinese golf fans. After all, since the classic scene of McIlroy's ascent to sheshan in 2019, this "Asian Golf Grand Slam" has been suspended in 2020 and 2021 due to the epidemic, regrettably becoming the only event in the four major tournaments of the World Championships and the PGA Tour's "Asian Series" system.
In the "Shanghai Event" brand recognition, HSBC Championship won the P event, and buick LPGA won the D event certification
In fact, according to insiders, as early as the summer of 2021, the HSBC Championships had received "special approval" from relevant parties in Shanghai, and under the premise of meeting the epidemic prevention requirements of the "closed-loop competition", it once entered the preparatory process for the resumption of the event at the end of October! Unfortunately, due to the outbreak of the epidemic in Nanjing in August, the "resumption" of three international events such as the HSBC Championship in Shanghai was ruined...
Whether it is the DP World Tour and the new LPGA season calendar, or the shanghai Municipal Sports Bureau event plan mentioned above, the 2022 World Championships - HSBC Champions and the Buick LPGA Championship have been scheduled – the former is October 27-30, the latter is October 13-16. However, in the next ten months, whether the two Shanghai competitions can be successfully restarted, the biggest variable depends on the development of the global epidemic, the progress of vaccine development, and even the degree of opening of China's national doors.
Wheat is in the mountains of Sheshan, as if in a different world
An international golf tournament, after all, involves the mobilization of at least hundreds of players, caddies, relatives, staff, officials and referees, and the media around the world; if admission is open, the risk of epidemic prevention of tens of thousands of spectators is even more important... The only positive thing is that the smooth holding of the Winter Olympics in Beijing in February will presumably set up an important indicator of "guiding lights" for the gradual unsealing of other international events in China.
No one wants to see the "Asian Grand Slam" shut down for the third consecutive year, but whether the HSBC Championship can resume smoothly, only time will tell us the answer.
3
Tigers make a comeback to the British Open
For 298 days, from a car accident and a broken leg to re-entry, Tiger Woods once again wrote the "miracle" of resurrection! But when people envisioned his return to the PGA Tour, he answered four "NO' in a row.
"No, no, no, no, I totally disagree. I'm not at that level. Now I can't compete with those players anymore. If I want to reach a level where I think I can compete with them and maintain a high level, there is still a long way to go. PNC Parent-Child Championship partners son finished second, Tiger said.
But just like the words that Tiger sent in the first postoperative swing video, "making progress" The pace of his recovery so quickly, and the history of staging several magical comebacks in his career, give people good reason to think that one day in 2022, he may actually be on the tee of an official game.
Although Woods bluntly stated that he "will no longer be a full-time player", he did not rule out the possibility of playing several games a year. Now it seems that if Tigers make a comeback, the heaviest and most focused Grand Slam tournament should be the first choice for his team (and sponsors). 5-time masters, perhaps the most suitable location? But just over 3 months ago, and Augusta's undulating slopes, made it a bit unrealistic for the tiger to make a comeback in April. As Nick Faldo put it: "Everyone thinks the Tigers should make a comeback at Augusta, but don't forget, it's the hardest stadium to walk and play." ”
The Tigers have twice won the British Open at the Old Stadium
The British Open in July will return to st. Andrews after a gap of five years, and perhaps this is the perfect place for the tiger to come back. "I would love to play at St Andrews. Without a doubt, this is my favorite stadium in the world. Woods said at the Heroes World Challenge. But at the end of the day, when Tigers will return, Presumably only he — and Lee Trevino — know.
"I know when he's going to show up, what games he's not going to play, and he's revealed all of that to me." The 82-year-old 6-time Grand Slam champion said at the PNC Parent-Child Championship, "I've known Tiger since he was 8 years old and watched him go through so many surgeries and things. Whatever restrictions you set for him, he will overcome them one by one. ”
4
Chinese mainland players to return to the PGA Tour
With the success of Yin Ruoning and Zhang Weiwei's qualification exam, a record 7 female golfers of Chinese mainland will play on the LPGA Tour in the new season. However, the highest stage of men's golf, the PGA Tour, is the first time in five years that no member wearing a five-star red flag has appeared...
Last fall, Zhang Xinjun regretted not being able to keep the PGA Tour card, Dou Zecheng failed to successfully break through the playoffs, and Yuan Yichun left the U.S. Leggian arena early due to his participation in the Olympic Games and the National Games, resulting in the PGA Tour's Chinese mainland members "no successor", and had to declare a "break" for the first time since the 2017/18 season. However, in the new season, without the "shackles" of the multi-sport games (at least not before September), Yuan Yichun, Zhang Xinjun and Dou Zecheng, three Chinese members of the Korn Ferry International Tour, can free their hands and feet and devote themselves to the journey of impacting the PGA Tour.
Yuan Yichun was just one step away from upgrading the PGA Tour last year
Among the three golfers, Zhang Xinjun has the experience of returning to the PGA Tour and has the most experience; Dou Zechenggui is the only "double champion" of china's light tour with strong strength; Yuan Yichun is the chief player of the Chinese mainland, and has been in the top 25 of the light tour standings for a long time last season, and is the most optimistic star of hope for promotion to the PGA Tour. With Sanying in the seat, Chinese fans have every reason to look forward to the 2022 Korn Ferry Tour!
But no matter what, the 2022 PGA Tour will surely have a five-star red flag raised – first next Thursday (January 13), Li Haotong will play as a card at the Sony Open in Hawaii; and on June 9, Beijing star Cao Yi will make his PGA Tour debut at the Canadian Open by relying on the overall champion of the 2020 Canadian Tour Summer Series.
5
The International team won the Presidents Cup
After the "Ryder Cup Year", we will usher in the "Presidents Cup Year" - from September 22 to 25 this year, the 14th Presidents Cup will be played at the Panic Valley Club in Charlotte, USA.
The U.S. team, sitting at home, will strive to write a jaw-dropping "nine consecutive championship" achievement! With the historic sweep of the Ryder Cup against the European team, the Star-Spangled Banner Army successfully defended the title on their doorstep, almost without suspense, not to mention their opponents, the International team, lost all 7 away games, and even swallowed a humiliating fiasco of 8 points in the latest trip to the United States (2017).
In Melbourne in 1998, the international team won the Presidents Cup for the only time
Three years ago in Melbourne, the international team led by Ayers launched a tenacious resistance to the American team led by Tiger Woods, creating a lead for the first three days until the individual game finally regrettably lost. Now that the captain of the international team has been replaced by another South African, Imerman, can he repeat the "miracle of the high altar" when Augusta upset the green jacket? Will his generals Hideki Matsuyama, Abraham Anser, Ursuren, Scott, Cameron Smith, Joaquin Nieman and others replicate the PGA Tour's performances on the Presidents Cup? Can Pan Zhengchun represent the Chinese in the international team for two consecutive consecutive terms? These are worth the fans' expectations!
As for the hosts, two-time Ryder Cup captain Davis Raff III will once again take over the U.S. coaching seal, after the 2016 Ryder Cup, can he lead the "strongest ever" American Army to once again stage a home victory? Can Tiger Woods return as a legend as vice captain? Can Mickelson, 51, be selected for team America's "Oldest Veteran Legend"? Will Deschampeau and Koepka be fighting together for the first time? They are also the main points of the "no suspense" American team. Biden, who is also proficient in golfing skills, will continue the tradition of the previous Presidents Cup, appearing on the court as an "honorary chairman" and awarding awards to the champion.
6
China's Asian Games gold medal zero breakthrough
Since making their debut at the 1986 Asian Games in Seoul, Chinese mainland players have competed in 9 Asian Games golf tournaments, winning five silver and four bronze medals. However, so far, the "breakthrough of zero" has not been achieved.
In September 2022, the Hangzhou Asian Games, which plays at home, will be the best opportunity to break through this "curse"?
In fact, as in any Asian Games event, the strength of Chinese golfers to compete for gold has always been unquestionable, especially at the Jakarta Asian Games four years ago, Liu Wenbo still had a 3-stroke advantage in the case of the last hole of the last round, but unfortunately the mistake exploded four bogeys on the single hole, allowing her to give the women's individual gold medal to the Philippine golfer at the time and later the US Women's Open champion Sasso Youhua... Although it is regrettable that it has not been able to create history, the performance of the 4 medals in a single edition has refreshed the best in the history of the Asian Games of Chinese golf.
Liu Wenbo finished second in the last Asian Games
This year's Asian Games golf tournament will be held on September 15-18 at the West Lake International Golf Course in Hangzhou. Although we have a good time and place, the Asian Games will change the "amateur-only" rules of participation and will allow professional players to play for the first time, which will undoubtedly increase the difficulty of the Chinese team to compete for gold - after all, in theory, all the top Asian players, including Hideki Matsuyama and Gao Zhenrong, have the theoretical possibility of participating in the Asian Games. Moreover, the huge temptation of "winning gold to avoid military service" will likely allow the South Korean team to form a powerful combination of "Ren Sung-jae + Kim Shi-won" PGA Tour champion.
In addition, Asian Games golf differs from the Olympic Games in that the final player lineup is determined using each team's assignment rather than according to the world ranking. Under the "big change" that allows professional golfers to play, how will the Chinese team line up and form a "4 men + 3 women" strength division? It is also left to the China Higher Education Association, as well as a series of professional and amateur experts, including Yuan Yichun, Li Haotong, Zhang Xinjun, Ding Wenyi, Chen Guxin, Lin Xiyu, Liu Yu, Yin Xiaowen and a series of professional and amateur players who urgently need to coordinate and break the situation...
7
Golf speed exceeds the 240 mark
Golfers' pursuit of extremes has never stopped.
On December 15, 2021, Bryson Deschampeaut soared a personal record of 221.5 mph. Just 8 days later, the new section chief hit the king world champion Kyle Bockshire responded – he set the latest world record for golf speed with a 233.4 mph blast!
233.4 miles, equivalent to 375.6 kilometers, what is the concept of such a speed? The speed of civil airliners when taking off from the ground is about 200-300 km / h, while the top speed achieved by F1 cars on the track is 375 km / h. That is to say, thanks to the efforts of people like De Chambre and Berkshire, the golfers have achieved a faster ball speed than F1 and airplanes!
This kind of ball speed translates into distance - That is, Berkshire once used the no. 1 wood to drive 492 yards against the sky, and Deshambo won last season's PGA Tour long-time champion with 323.7 yards! Of course, the 230-mile ball speed must not be used in the official game, but seeing the explosion of De Chambord's 370-yard cross-water direct green on the Parmes-Five hole at the Palmer Invitational (the ball speed was 196 miles at the time), how can you doubt that the pursuit of extremes will not change the sport of golf?
235, 240, 245, 250 miles... It is conceivable that in 2022, the chase will not stop.
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